app/README

= WHAT BELONGS IN /app =

/app should contain only the files needed for the actual Google App
Engine application "image".  Support code that is not part of the application
image belongs elsewhere, such as in /scripts, for example.

= THIRD PARTY CODE =

Third-party code that is *not* part of the application image (the Google App
Engine SDK in /thirdparty/google_appengine, for example) belongs in
/thirdparty (see also /thirdparty/README).

Third-party code that is part of the application image is placed in a package
subdirectory in /app, such as /app/django, for example.

If the third-party package is a single Python source file, place the code in
/app/<package>/__init__.py, so that it can simply be imported using,
for example:

import feedparser

(The /app/feedparser package is a good example of this approach.)

== THIRD PARTY LICENSES ==

Third-party code must also include a license text file, named LICENSE or
COPYING, in the package subdirectory.  If the third-party package subdirectory
is maintained automatically with a tool such as svn_load_dirs.pl (which
removes files, such as license text files, that were added later to the
"target" directory), place the license text file in the /app directory
and add the package name as a suffix (LICENSE.django is an example of this
case).

= CREATING AN OFFICIAL RELEASE =

== TAGGING A RELEASE ==

Steps (currently done by hand, but too be scripted in the future) to make
a release:

1) Update the "version:" field in the app.yaml.template file. Resulting
   format of the "version:" field needs to be:

     A-B-YYYYMMDD

   where:
   * A is a major number (currently '0' until at least GSoC functionality
     is completely implemented)
   * B is a (possibly multi-digit) minor number that is increased whenever
     there is a major increase in functionality (some major GSoC or GCI
     feature, e.g. student sign-ups and proposals, is implemented)
   * YYYY is the four digit year of the release date
   * MM is the (always) two digit month of the release date (zero-padded)
   * DD is the (always) two digit day of the release date (zero-padded)

2) Commit this file *by itself* in its own commit.

3) Use 'hg tag' to mark release in Mercurial with exactly the same name as
   the contents of the "version:" field in the app.yaml.template file.

4) Use 'hg push' to record your changes. Then deploy to the live web site.

== PATCHING AND RE-RELEASING AN EXISTING RELEASE ==

To re-release a previously-tagged release after a patch for a push to
the live web site:

1) Update use "hg update -r tag" to bring your working copy to the tagged
   version.

1) Increment the "patch suffix" of the "version:" field value to the next
   integer (for example, "p1" becomes "p2"), or append "p1" to the end of
   the existing string if this is the first patch release (so the first tagged
   patch release will always be "p1").  For example:

     A-B-YYYYMMDD becomes A-B-YYYYMMDDp1

   and:

     A-B-YYYYMMDDp1 becomes A-B-YYYYMMDDp2

   etc.

2) Commit this file *by itself* in its own commit (after all patches are
   committed).

3) Use 'hg tag' to mark modified branch with exactly the same name as the
   contents of the new, patched "version:" field in the app.yaml.template
   file.

4) Push changes with 'hg push'. Then deploy.